Here are 10 great quotes from one of the masters of spiritual metaphors, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditationi

1

” a millionaire who goes begging

“By not using his full potential, man is not able to fulfill the purpose of his life. He is found suffering in many ways because he is not using the full conscious capacity of his mind; he is not using the great energy he carries within himself. He is not experiencing and expressing in his life the abundance of absolute bliss that he naturally possesses, the great absolute field of creativity and power that he has within himself. He is like a millionaire who has forgotten all his wealth and status and who goes begging in the street and at every moment feels the lack of money.”

2

” a skilled gardener waters the root

If a petal of a flower starts to wither, a skilled gardener does not water the petal, he waters the root. If a relationship begins to create tension, very little can be gained by trying to reconcile the parties by suggestions on the surface.

3

” pulling the arrow back

“The skill in action is to first bring the activity to nil, and from there start to act. It is like drawing the arrow back on the bow before we wish to shoot ahead. The skill lies in pulling the arrow back on the bow as far as possible until it reaches the state of no activity. From that point, the arrow can be shot by just releasing the catch, without effort. So this skill in action is only a matter of pulling the arrow back and then releasing it. It will, with the least amount of effort, naturally shoot ahead with the maximum force. Likewise, by utilizing the skill of bringing the activity of the mind to a state of stillness and from that point starting the activity, the energy necessary to perform the action will be least. The action will be performed for the greatest results, and the doer will cultivate a state of eternal freedom.”

4

” a dry leaf on the ground

“All relative life without the conscious basis of Being is like a ship without a rudder, ever at the mercy of the tossing sea. It is like a dry leaf on the ground left to the mercy of the wind, drifting aimlessly in any direction the wind takes it, for it has no roots to anchor it.”

5

” the sap and the root

“Being is the basis of all living, just as without the sap and root there would be no tree. If we can take care of the sap the whole tree will be taken care of. Similarly, if we can take care of Being, the whole field of thinking and doing will be taken care of.”

6

” the garments keep on changing

“When a judge sits in the courtroom, he wears robes befitting a judge, but when he goes to his club he appears in the clothes that are worn at a club. When he is at home he wears clothes that differ from those he wears on the street. And, before retiring at night, he changes his clothes once again. The garments keep on changing, but the man remains the same. He is addressed in different ways by different people, yet the man is forever the same man. Likewise, all different forms and phenomena in creation differ in their qualities. No two forms in the world appear to be the same, for nothing in creation seems to be stable. All is changing from one to the other, yet, at the basis of all these ever-changing phases of forms and phenomena of creation, the underlying reality is the same never-changing eternal absolute Being.”

7

” through a red glass

If one puts a red glass to his eye, he sees everything as red; if he looks through a green glass he sees everything as green. Whatever the individual’s state of mind, it reflects itself. But due to ignorance, generally, the atmosphere is held to be responsible for it.

8

” it is not the nature of the bee to fly

If a honeybee is flying here and there in search of a honeyed flower, it should not be thought that flying is its nature. It is flying with the purpose of remaining steady at a flower; it will wander as long as it does not find a flower containing honey. But as soon as the flower is found, the bee immediately will alight on it. There is a purpose to the flying. It is not the nature of the bee to fly; rather its nature is to be at a flower and to draw out the honey. Similarly, the mind wanders, but it is not wandering by nature. It wanders because it does not find a place to rest or a medium of happiness.

9

” at the mercy of the doctor

When a doctor is to operate on a patient, he cuts into the body in all kindness, sympathy, and willingness to help the patient, but he can only start operating when the patient has completely given himself to him. The patient has to put himself at the mercy of the doctor and only then can the doctor operate for the patient’s benefit. Similarly, if one submits oneself to nature, nature begins to operate on him and all that nature does is for his own evolution and good.

10

” ripples and waves of the vast ocean

“Being is like a limitless ocean of life, silent and ever-existing in the same status. The different aspects of creation can be taken to be as ripples and waves of the vast ocean of eternal Being.”

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^{All quotes are from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s book
The Science of Being, Art of Living}